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Overview

A #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Batman is not a hero.

He is just a man.

Fallible, vulnerable, and angry.

In a Gotham City where friend and foe are indistinguishable, Bruce Wayne's path toward becoming the Dark Knight is riddled with more obstacles than ever before. Focused on punishing his parents’ true killers, and the corrupt police that allowed them to go free, Bruce Wayne's thirst for vengeance fuels his mad crusade and no one, not even Alfred, can stop him.

In the tradition of the #1 New York Times bestselling Superman: Earth One, writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank re-imagine a new mythology for the Dark Knight, where the familiar is no longer the expected in this long-awaited original graphic novel from DC Comics.

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

In this alternate Batman prehistory, Bruce Wayne is a fallible young man mourning his dead parents and contemplating his revenge. This addition to the DC: Earth One line places the hero's origins in an updated, modern setting. Now in trade paperback and NOOK Book.

From the Publisher

"After successfully re-imagining the Man of Steel in Superman: Secret Origin, Geoff Johns and Gary Frank have unleashed their talents on Bruce Wayne and proven, once again, that under the right stewardship, the Batman legend is endlessly malleable. Alfred as a former Royal Marine. The Penguin as a genuinely creepy and sadistic villain. Awesome."—David S. Goyer, co-writer of Batman Begins, The Dark Knight Rises, and Man of Steel

“For the first time in a long time, you can see Batman's eyes. That may seem like a minor change. It's not. Johns and Frank know that the real appeal of Batman is what hides within him. Now they're letting us take a brand new, breathtaking peek ... inside and out.”—Brad Meltzer

"Just when you thought there couldn't possibly be a fresh take on Batman, along come Johns & Frank to prove you extraordinarily wrong. Original, surprising and emotional, Batman: Earth One is a must-read."—Damon Lidelof, co-creator and executive producer of Lost

Publishers Weekly

Have you heard the one about the orphaned millionaire who dresses up like a bat? Of course you have. The irony of Batman is that he’s one of the most high-profile superheroes ever, despite his dark and mysterious demeanor in comics. Johns’s effort is sold as a reimagining, but it’s essentially the same story that’s been retold for the past 70 years. Bruce Wayne seeks revenge for his parents’ murders against the backdrop of a crime-ridden Gotham City, with a few cosmetic updates, such as Alfred the Butler being portrayed as a grizzled military veteran who trains Bruce Wayne with tough love, and the Penguin as the corrupt mayor of Gotham City. The trappings are gritty, but there’s not a lot of suspense surrounding them—you know who the villains are and you know they are going to be disposed of. Nor are there interesting character revelations about Batman, with Johns preferring to focus on other characters more closely. Frank’s art adds interesting realistic touches without verging too far from Batman’s comic book ambience. The book is definitely appropriate for newer fans who haven’t read or seen this origin story a thousand times already, or casual readers influenced by the Christopher Nolan movies who want to dip their toes in the comics. (July)

Geoff Johns is an award-winning writer and one of the most popular contemporary comic book writers today. Johns is the author of The New York Times bestselling graphic novels Aquaman: The Trench, Blackest Night, Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War, Justice League: Origin, Superman: Brainiac and Batman: Earth One which hit #1 on the bestseller list. He is also known for transforming Green Lantern into one of the most critically and commercially successful franchises in comics.

Johns was born in Detroit and studied media arts, screenwriting, and film at Michigan State University. After moving to Los Angeles, he became an assistant to Richard Donner, director of Superman: The Movie. He and his mentor Donner later co-wrote Superman: Last Son featuring the return of General Zod.

Johns has written for various other media, including episodes of Smallville, Arrow and Adult Swim's Robot Chicken, for which he was nominated along with his co-writers for an Emmy. He is the Chief Creative Officer of DC Entertainment and resides in Los Angeles, California.

Gary Frank, a native of Bristol, England, began his comics career working on various titles for Marvel UK before entering the American comics scene as the penciller on Marvel’s Incredible Hulk. Frank then came to DC Comics where he was the original artist on BIRDS OF PREY and pencilled the adventures of SUPERGIRL. He has also worked on WildStorm’s GEN 13 as well as his creator-owned series Kin. Frank,
along with writer Geoff Johns, has worked on the bestselling titles SUPERMAN: BRAINIAC, SUPERMAN AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES and the New York Times #1 bestseller, BATMAN: EARTH ONE.

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By Far My Favorite Batman Comic

This is by far my favorite Batman comic I have ever read. It does what it says, it shows Batman in a new way. It shows a little more back story, which I always look for, and fail to find in many Batman comics.

I like the variety and differences in how the characters are from the way that they are usually portrayed. It makes me see Batman as more of a regular person, more humane, more relatable. Batman isn’t perfect, he's not “super”, and that’s how he should be thought as. Imperfect. They also made Alfred a freaking bad ass, so obviously it’s a great comic. I’m definitely reading the next in this series. It’s on the top of my wish list.

ARC reviewed by Kole for Book Sake.

26 out of 28 people found this review helpful.

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daningotham

Posted April 18, 2013

Please ignore the negative reviews that were based on how differ

Please ignore the negative reviews that were based on how different this Batman is and that it changes the origin. This is the story of Batman on Earth One, which is an alternate earth and that is why it's different. The Batman we all know is the Batman of Earth Zero. There is also a Batman on Earth 2 and on up to Earth 52. There are 52 alternate Earths in the DC Universe. This book was awesome and I highly recommend to any long time Batman fans. Just remember it's the Batman of Earth One not Earth Zero and you will be fine.

10 out of 10 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted August 5, 2012

Rewrite

This doesn't tell more of batman's back story, it changes it completely. Really, it's more of a backstory on Alfred than on batman. For batman, it creates a whole new story line about his childhood and transition to batman. If you're a fan of the batman story, you are going to be shaking your head like watching a movie based on a book that is nothing like the book.

8 out of 23 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted July 13, 2012

Fun read

Jeoff Johns does it again. It's a really cool take on the batman world.

5 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

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Knight-2000

Posted July 11, 2012

Very cool

Its very fast paced read, and a fresh take the Batman legend.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted July 23, 2012

Great preview.

I loved this preview and am buying the graphic novel at my local comic book store this weekend.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted July 30, 2012

Rick on July, 29 2012

It is an awesome book

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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IanC

Posted September 16, 2014

Probably the most realistic take on Batman. Even more so than th

Probably the most realistic take on Batman. Even more so than the Nolan movies or Year One. No Batmobile, no special equipment, not even a bat cave! Just a grappling gun and training from Alfred. Bruce hunts his parent's killer while bringing down the corrupt mayor of Gotham. Both the Gordons are great in this! Jim and Barbara! And an interesting take on Bullock. If Batman really existed, this is what I think he would look like.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted November 24, 2013

I liked it

It was a nice twist on batman hope they come out with volume 2

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted September 17, 2013

AWSOME

Cool book

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted September 17, 2013

Whattt

Erm....thiswas weird and boring

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted June 17, 2013

This is why we read comics. This is why we read batman.

I barely read the opening sample so far. And even with a mythology i know backwards and forewards by now i was still on seag edge reading this piece. Gothic art. Maturely represented character images. A dark edgy feeling in the art alone. And the syory telling.........yeah. this is why we read. A spell is being cast.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted May 12, 2013

Sad

Such gloomy story that is messed up. I don't suggest getting it unless all you want is talking. Good art though.

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted January 7, 2013

I liked it

I like the preview and look like a good story

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted January 5, 2013

Connor

That day that Connor died was truly forgiven.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted January 4, 2013

Me likey

Top notch Batman story.

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted November 30, 2012

Great story to this Batman but...

It felt kind of short and whether that was because I was engrossed and didn't notice the time fly...or it was just slightly smaller than regular hardcover I think people would like to be into a story a bit longer. Now it is well written and well drawn and Im sure many fans are much more likely to enjoy it than not so I still give it high marks.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted August 9, 2012

A classic

Johns does it again! A new take on the legend of batman. A must read.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted February 19, 2015

Duh

Chuck

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Anonymous

Posted January 24, 2015

Batman

It is sooooooooooooooo cool

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